Gumbology

 

   During the home cook resurgence of 2020, I was one of the many people who began experimenting with various recipes within the bounds of my kitchen. One of my experiments included making the renowned dish of the American South, Gumbo, and I almost immediately fell in love. My interest in this dish began slowly taking shape during the many New Year's Day parties we attended at a family friend's abode in Washington Heights. The gumbo served there was prepared with an array of vegetables that, when combined in the massive enamel pot, seemed unappealing to my immature palate back in the day. Eventually, I worked up the urge to try a bit and found myself flabbergasted by the smorgasbord of flavors and textures that entered my mouth. I still recall the delightful tenderness of the shrimp, which the host had brought from the south to allow the merriment of the big easy to manifest on the bitter cold of a typical January in NYC. Just like with my mother's pesto, I still berate my young adolescent self for not trying this sooner, but I digress. I soon discovered, during my attempts at making gumbo, that part of the joy of the dish naturally comes from making it—namely, the basis of the stew, known as the roux. The process of making roux involves mixing oil and flour over high heat until a chocolate-brown slag forms at the bottom, at which point the soffrito of Cajun cooking, otherwise known as the Holy Trinity, goes in. Many experts advise making the roux over medium heat and stirring it slowly throughout ten to fifteen minutes, but I prefer the exhilarating feeling of cooking the roux on high, constantly stirring while waiting for the brief window of opportunity to add the vegetables before it burns. Yes, the margin of error is more significant, and the likelihood of getting scalded by hot oil is greater still, but it causes a level of excitement to manifest within me that not many other dishes can create. Gumbo is a dish that encourages creativity, as I have experimented with a slew of various proteins and vegetables since I started making it, and I know there are still so many more things to try.